Guard stops for ribbon-type razors



y 8, 15'69 I J- DAWIDOWICZ 3,453,733

GUARD STOPS FOR RIBBON-TYPE RAZORS Filed March 20, 1967 Sheet I01" 2 2| m 1m" W INVENTOR JAN DA w/oowlcz y 8, 1959 v J. DAWIDOWICZ 3,453,733

' GUARD STOPS FOR RIBBON-TYPE RAZORS Filed March 20, 1967 Sheet 2 of 2 3: W E Z GE CE 30 l a" A jln A I INVENTOR JAN DA WlDOW/CZ BY fiiwwdzz a fi gy United States Patent GUARD STOPS FOR RIBBON-TYPE RAZORS Jan Dawidowicz, Fairfield, Conn., assignor to Eversharp, Inc., Milford, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 624,599 Int. ,Cl. B26b 21/26 U.S. Cl. 30-346.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Guard stops for a razor having a thin band or ribbonlike blade, a selected section of which is clamped on a shaving bridge. The guard stops are normally spaced slightly from the .line or sharpened edge of the ribbonlike blade, and if the blade fails to track properly, the guard stops prevent the blade from leaving the shaving bridge Where it is held for shaving. As the ribbon-like blade is advanced, it may resume a proper tracking position. The guard stops also serve to protect the ribbonlike blade from damage if accidentally dropped.

This invention relates to improvements in safety razors of the type having a ribbon-type blade. More specifically, the present invention relates to new and improved guard stops which are located so as not to interfere with the shaving function, and yet provide a measure of safety at critical points to prevent damage to the blade if the razor is accidentally dropped, or prevent untracking or disengagement of the ribbon-like blade from the razor, if such should occur for any reason such as the blade becoming torn, damaged or the like.

Safety razors of the type having thin ribbon blades are known in the art, however, until recently, the commercialization of razors of this type was extremely limited. As of late, improvements in this field have made them commercially feasible and they have been received with a considerable degree of acceptance by the public. Notwithstanding the present public acceptance, one problem which still remains is that of loss of blade tracking, which occurs when the blade is torn or damaged. This oftentimes causes the blade to walk off the bridge or become untracked from the predetermined or proper path of movement. As such blades are of extremely thin construction and also very sharp, the apparent danger to the user is evident if it becomes separated from the remainder of the cartridge. Also, if the blade becomes untracked, the remaining portion of the blade is unsuitable for use, thus resulting in the total destruction of the cartridge with the resulting loss of consumer good will. i

The present invention relates to a pair of unique guar stops which are located at opposite ends of the shaving bridge where they will not interfere with the shaving function. Under normal circumstances, the guard stops are spaced from the live or sharpened edge of the blade, and are only engaged by the blade when it becomes torn or becomes untracked. The stops then become operative to maintain the blade located on the shaving bridge so that further advancing movement of the blade will cause the blade to resume the proper shaving position on the shaving bridge. The stops also serve to protect the corners of the blade from damage if the razor is accidentally dropped.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved safety razor having a ribbon-type blade.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pair of guard stops on a safety razor of the type having a thin ribbon-like blade.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide guard stops for use on a ribbon-type razor, which stops prevent the blade from becoming separated from the holder if the blade does not track properly.

Other objects and a better understanding of the salient features of the invention will be apparent on consideration of the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a blade cartridge having a ribbon-type blade;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the shaving bridge and integral guard with the clamping spring and blade removed and the guard stops shown in front elevation;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the left-hand end portion of the shaving bridge and guard shown in FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a shaving bridge and integral guard shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the shaving bridge and integral guards shown in FIGURES 24;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 66 of FIGURE 2 after installation of the blade; and

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view similar to that of FIG- URE 4 with the ribbon blade installed and having a fracture or tear at the left-hand end of the shaving bridge and illustrating the live or sharpened edge in engagement with the guard stop.

As is known in the art, the razor cartridge or magazine includes a supply reel and take-up reel With a ribbon-like thin blade extending therebetween across a shaving bridge. A clamping spring maintains the thin blade held in shaving position on the shaving bridge and suitable means is provided to advance the blade from the supply reel to the take-up reel to replace a worn out section of blade with an unused section. Details of these general features not illustrated in the accompanying drawings, however, may be found in co-pending application Ser. No. 501,477, filed on Oct. 22, .1965 and of which I am a co-inventor. Such details are incorporated by reference, if necessary, for purposes of understanding the invention.

In FIGURE 1, the magazine or cartridge 10- consists of a frame 12 and cover 13. A clamping spring 14 is joined to the frame and presses a ribbon-like blade 15 into conforming relation with the shaving bridge 16. An advancing lever 17 is mounted on the cover 13 and serves to move the ribbon-like blade 15 from the supply reel (not shown) to the take-up reel (not shown) in the manner mentioned above.

Referring now to FIGURES 2-4, it can be seen that the frame 12 is of generally T-shaped. form and has a generally flat back 20 from which the shaving bridge 16 projects. At the rearward portion of the bridge 16 is formed an upstanding shoulder 21 serving as a guide for the rear unsharpened edge of the blade 15. At its lower end, the shoulder 21 merges with an angularly disposed trough '22 extending to a blade supporting surface 23 of the shaving bridge 16. The forward end of the bridge 16 terminates in a downwardly projecting shoulder 24 which merges at its lower end with an integrally formed guard 25 having openings 26 and 27 to provide an outlet for the shaving product.

The ends of the shaving bridge 30 and 31 are formed to a generally wedge-shaped configuration so that when the blade is under tension, the resulting lateral forces tend to urge it rearwardly against the guide shoulder 21. Tracking lugs 32 are formed on the blade supporting surface 23 of the bridge 16 and co-operate with openings 33 provided in the blade to assist in guiding and holding the same during shaving. The co-operation With the tracking lugs 32 with the openings or apertures 33 in the blade is 3 described in detail in the above-mentioned co-pending application.

At opposite ends of the bridge are positioned guard stops indicated generally at 34 and 35. As is best seen in FIGURES 2-6, each of the guard stops 34 and 35 is provided with a vertical shoulder portion 36 and 37, respectively. As is apparent in FIGURE 6, the shoulder 37, under normal tracking conditions, is spaced from the sharpened edge of the blade a slight amount. During normal movement of the blade 15 across the shaving bridge, neither guard stop 34 nor 35 engages the blade 15.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 6, the stops are smoothly rounded at their forward ends so as to not drag or present an uncomfortable effect when drawn across the skin of the shaver. The smooth curvature blends with the lower part of the guard which is integral with the shaving bridge.

As seen in FIGURE 7, the ribbon blade 15 has the rearward or unsharpened edge in sliding engagement with the vertical shoulder 21. When a tear develops in the ribbon blade 15, as is shown at 40, the blade may expand or move forwardly on the bridge 16. As the blade 15 is advanced by the advancing mechanism, the forward or sharpened edge 41 may have a tendency to move off the shaving bridge 16, however, after the sharpened edge 41 of the blade 15 moves forward only a slight amount, the shoulder 37 on the stop 35 is engaged, precluding further forward movement. The shoulder 37 on the stop 35 will maintain the blade positioned on the shaving bridge so that it may be advanced further by the conventional advancing means to permit the torn or damaged portion of the blade to pass on to the take-up reel. As the blade 15 is advanced, the wedging action caused by the tension of the blade over the ends will cause the blade to resume its normal tracking position.

As can be appreciated, the blade stops prevent untracking of the blade, reducing the possibility of injury to the user with its adverse consequences. If the tear or damage occurs at the incoming or pay-off end of the bridge, the defective part can be traversed across the entire bridge without experiencing loss in the tracking movement of the blade. As is evident, if blade tracking is lost, the live or sharpened edge of the blade exposes the user to a very dangerous condition. The stops also provide a guard against damage to the blade and associated parts, should it be dropped and land on the forward corners of the bridge.

The stops are normally spaced from the blade to prevent contact with the live or sharpened edge. Obviously, any contact wtih the edge at the entrance end of the bridge, regardless how slight, causes dulling of the edge with the adverse effect on shaving. The guard stops have been illustrated as being formed on the bridge because this is most convenient in manufacture, however, they can also be formed on the cover, the razor frame, or whatever else convenient.

I claim:

1. In a ribbon razor magazine wherein a section of a sharpened ribbon-like blade is positioned for shaving on a bridge forming a part of said magazine and thereby exposing the sharpened edge of said blade for shaving, the combination of a plurality of generally Wedge-shaped tracking lugs disposed on said bridge, said lugs being aligned with one another parallel to said edge of said blade, a plurality of apertures in said blade for registry with said lugs to prevent lateral blade movement, and a pair of raised stops formed at opposite ends of said bridge along the forward edge thereof, each of said stops being normally spaced from the sharpened edge of the blade and projecting above the plane of the ribbon-like blade when said ribbon-like blade is positioned on said bridge with at least one lug engaging at least one aperture, said stops being engageable with said blade in the event of abnormal blade tracking thereby preventing release of said blade from said magazine.

2. The improvement in ribbon razors or claim 1 wherein each of said raised stops is arcuate on the side opposite that facing the sharpened edge of said blade to provide a smooth surface for engagement by a shavers skin.

3. The improvement in ribbon razors of claim 1 wherein said bridge further includes, at each end thereof, arcuate end portions being in the form of a portion of a frustrum of a cone whereby to impart a frustro-conical contour to the portion of the blade passing thereover, said apex of the cone of which said frusto-conical end portions are a part lying rearwardly of said blade edge, for tensioning said blade and urging said apertures into registry with said lugs.

4. The improvement in ribbon-type razors of claim 1 which further includes spring means associated with said bridge, said spring means having a portion thereof adapted to bear downwardly on a portion of said blade, for urging said apertures into registry with said tracking lugs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MYRON C. KRUZE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 30-401 

